Record Reviews

BAN / SURMAN / MANERI ~ TRANSYLVANIAN FOLK SONGS SUNNYSIDE 1580 (Barcode: 016728158022) ~ ROMANIA ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2018 Released: 2020 This is an album by the international trio comprising of Romanian pianist Lucian BanFind albums by this artist, British saxophonist / bass clarinetist John SurmanFind albums by this artist and American violist Mat ManeriFind albums by this artist. The trio performs nine Transylvanian Folk songs originally transcribed by the great Hungarian composer Bela BartokFind albums by this artist during his ethnomusicological studies in the early 20th Century, during which he transcribed thousands of Folk pieces. The beautiful Folk melodies are gently treated by the trio members, somewhere between their original melodic core interpretations and improvised vistas, mostly explored by Surman, who is the main soloist and who’s playing here is a tour de force of Jazz improvisation. The interplay between the three musicians is very intimate and the sound of the trio is perfectly balanced, which produces a highly aesthetical journey through an amalgam of East European / Balkan music and Jazz improvisation, which should delight all true Jazz lovers. This album received relatively little coverage on the international Jazz scene, perhaps due to the pandemics or the fact that most journalists did not know how to “swallow” this multilayered, complex but beautiful music. Perhaps the most important aspect of this music is its universality, proving again that music knows no borders, and any music created by people can be loved and accepted by all people, regardless of their Cultural backgrounds. Overall, this is a stunning piece of music, which deserves to be heard all over the world, and which despite its initial “peculiarity” can easily break all barriers, creating a true intellectual pleasure storm. Not to be missed under any circumstances!

Updated: 30/04/2022Posted: 30/04/2022

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

MANERI / KALMANOVITCH / JACOBSON / OSGOOD ~ VARIATIONS ON NO PARTICULAR THEME – PART 2 GOTTA LET IT OUT 50 ~ USA ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2021 Released: 2022 This is the second part of the “diptych” recorded by the international Improvised Music quartet, which comprises of American violist Mat ManeriFind albums by this artist, Canadian violist Tanya KalmanovitchFind albums by this artist, Polish bassist Tomo JacobsonFind albums by this artist and Danish drummer Kresten OsgoodFind albums by this artist. The album presents six improvised pieces, all called “variation” and numbered, probably according to the recording sequence (my guess). The music is as improvised as it gets, with no melodic continuity whatsoever, with everything happening in a spur of the moment, exactly as expected in such circumstances. However, the unusual instrumentation, which is a sort of string trio with drums, has a natural appeal and manages to attract the attention of listeners used to the Improvised Music ambience. There is no doubt that these are highly original musicians with a wide experience, which helps them to develop the crisscross conversations between them, which create a series of solo / duo / trio / quartet statements, weaved within the time continuity, and which eventually start to make sense to the open-minded listener. Overall, this is an almost “romantic” excursion within the Improvised Music scene, which might be able to reach a somewhat wider audience than most of such recordings eventually do. Kudos to Jacobson and his Gotta Let It OutFind albums on this label label, which is one of the most prolific independent Improvised Music labels active in Europe today.

Updated: 16/03/2023Posted: 04/10/2022

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